The AMIA 2001 Spring Congress will focus on "Developing a National Agenda for Public Health Informatics." The Scientific Program Committee and AMIA feel that informatics as an applied science has far-reaching implications for use in public health practice. It is important to build a strong foundation upon which the Nation can universally apply information technology to improve the health of communities. Bringing together leaders in the medical informatics and public health communities, this conference will lay the conceptual groundwork for that foundation. This Congress will focus on the major opportunities and challenges in developing a national agenda for Public Health Informatics including: funding and policy directions; the evolving architecture and infrastructure; privacy, confidentiality, and security: balancing individual and aggregate data; the application of standards and vocabulary; the role of research and evaluation; training the public health workforce in informatics; and best practices: what we've learned, how to distribute our knowledge. Encompassing key public health themes of surveillance and population health, the conference will include plenary sessions on critical topics followed by extensive facilitated discussions to develop and prioritize recommendations.